Millions of Indians along the banks of the 2,500 km (1,550 mile)-long Ganges depend on the river, but unchecked levels of agricultural, industrial and domestic waste have poured in over the past decades, threatening the wildlife.

The Indian government has given its nod for creating buffer zones around Pench and Melghat tiger reserves in Maharashtra. The Pench tiger reserve in Nagpur district, which has a core area of 275 sq km has been equipped with a 500 km buffer zone. While the Melghat tiger reserve which has a total area of 2,300 sq km has been granted 1,268 km buffer zone.